Dhaka city dwellers fear that congestion on streets is going to be even more unbearable with the schools and colleges staying open for the better part of Ramadan.

Schools and colleges usually remain closed during the holy month, but this year, to make up for the learning loss amid the pandemic, they will stay open three week into Ramadan when business activities surge.

"Traffic congestion becomes ubiquitous in Ramadan. We have already been experiencing severe gridlocks for a week. If the authorities do not take any measures immediately, congestion will turn into nightmares," said Mahfuzur Rahman, a resident of Adabor.

The situation seems particularly concerning as school and office hours would coincide, he added.

Transport expert Prof Shamsul Hoque said it will be quite a challenge to control traffic in Ramadan. 

Usually, city roads see most traffic for 18 hours of the day. But in Ramadan, the time reduces to 13-14 hours, he said, adding that it intensifies the load on the roads.

Construction work taking place on the roads should be paused for the month and the authorities should make as much room as possible for vehicles. Through constant vigilance, the authorities should free the footpaths from vendors, crack down on illegal parking, and buses should not be allowed to block traffic by stopping at the intersections.

Abul Kalam, of Mirpur, said it took him almost two and a half hours to reach his office in Paltan over the last two weeks.

The scorching heat adds to the woes, he added. "Things will be even more unbearable this week."

Miroza Parvin, mother of a third grader in Senpara, said for the last few days walking to school has been faster than taking the car.

"We don't want disruption to our children's education. But considering the traffic situation, the government could have adopted a hybrid of online and in-person classes," said Miroza, whose son's school is in the cantonment area.

With no restrictions in place, more people are expected to go out shopping during the Ramadan while businesses would be looking to make up for losses incurred over the last two years.

On the other hand, many people would come to the capital from outside Dhaka to look for work and for business purposes.

Wahidul Islam, a rickshaw puller, said there are 40 rickshaws in his garage. Of them, 12-15 rickshaws remain unused in normal times due to shortage of rickshaw pullers. But for the last two days, all the rickshaws are being used.

"There are already more rickshaws on roads," he pointed out.

Contacted, Abu Raihan Mohammad Saleh, joint commissioner (Traffic North) of DMP, said police have plans to deploy additional forces from the crime divisions to ensure motorists are following rules.

Police will also launch a special operation against vehicles which will breach traffic rules. "We'll give special focus on passenger buses that stop wherever the driver wishes," he told The Daily Star.

He said they will hold meetings with owners of city service buses and request them to instruct transport workers to follow traffic rules and maintain discipline on roads.

"We'll take drastic action if anyone violates traffic rules and stops vehicles to pick up and drop off passengers on the roads," said Raihan.

Traffic jams at certain hours are quite common in megacities around the world and Dhaka is among the worst.

In the World Traffic Index 2020, Dhaka ranked 10th in terms of poor traffic management among 228 cities.

The major factors behind this are shortage of roads and inefficient traffic management. Besides, the existing public transport system fails to address the desirable mobility needs of the people in terms of reliability, comfort, speed, and safety.